attempt to inoculate papilionaceous plants with the rootnodule organisms belonging to non-papilionaceous Leguminosa and to plants of quite different families, those of Acacia (Mimoseae) and of Elæagnus and Alnus being chosen. In another paper Prof. Bottomley showed that the long-known effect of sprinkling urine on the floors of greenhouses in order to cause a more luxuriant growth of orchids is due to the presence of both nitrite and nitrate bacteria in the cells of the velamen, which are thus able to utilise the ammonia arising by decomposition of the urine and absorbed along with the water vapour normally condensed by the velamen.

Miss C. B. Sanders, of Oxford, described some experiments carried out in Prof. Gotch's laboratory on the local production of heat connected with the disappearance of starch in the spadices of various Araceae. Remarks on this paper were made by Dr. F. F. Blackman.

Dr. Ellis, of Glasgow, described experiments to show that ciliation cannot be used as a taxonomic character among bacteria-as has recently been done by Migula because under appropriate conditions all the members of such groups as Coccaceæ, Bacteriacea, and Spirillaceæ, in which this character has been used, can be made to acquire cilia.

The semi-popular lecture was delivered by Prof. Yapp, who took his hearers for a most pleasant excursion through some of the principal regions of South Africa, introducing them to the various types of vegetation met with by means of a series of beautiful lantern-slides from his own photographs.

The section met on Thursday afternoon, August 2, and for a short time on Monday afternoon, August 6. The other afternoons were left free for excursions, of which several were arranged by the local secretary, Dr. Burtt, of the British Botanical Association, and by other local botanists. Those to Askham Bog and to Skipwith Common may be specially mentioned as of great botanical interest.

THE ARCHEOLOGICAL CONGRESS AT

VANNES.

THE second congress of the Prehistoric Society of France was held from August 21-26 in the capital of the department of Morbihan, the classic land of Megalithic monuments, at any rate so far as France is concerned. The attendance exceeded that of the very successful first congress held at Périgueux last year.

The inaugural meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21, was graced by the presence of prominent citizens. Speeches were made by the Mayor of Vannes, Senator Riou, Prof. Adrien de Mortillet, president of the congress, and by Dr. Marcel Baudouin, the secretary, who insisted on the need of providing a special building to house the rich collections of the Société polymathique, and on the desirability of creating a national Megalithic park comparable to the Yellowstone National Park of the United States.

The president of the local committee, M. Morio, welcomed the congress in the name of the Société polymathique, the museum of which was much admired by the parties which visited it in the afternoon. It includes collections from the principal tumuli of the neighbourhood, excavated by the society during its many years of existence; there are, for example, the splendid necklaces of callais beads, a fine series of fibrolite axes, curious stone discs, scarcely found outside this area, and huge polished celts. In the evening M. Riou gave a reception at the Mairie, and various toasts were proposed.

The numerous papers and the lively discussions attest the success of the congress. M. Rutot, the curator of the Royal Museum of Brussels, led off with a consideration of the question of the Paleolithic bed of Havre; he maintained that there was no question of displacement; what had taken place was a falling in of the superincumbent earth and erosion of the cliff. Dr. Joussel then described a new prehistoric bed discovered at La Longère, near Nogent-le-Notrou (Eure-et-Loire), where objects of varying appearance and discutable age have been found, assigned by the author to the Flénusien age of Rutot. M. Hue brought forward a new method of measuring the skulls of Canidae, which M. Baudouin urged all archæologists to

apply to the measurement of other animals. Dr. Guébhard appealed to the archæologists of the world to bring into existence a map of prehistoric monuments, the preliminary steps towards which have been made by the Société préhistorique de Paris.

Two long sittings were held on the morning and evening of the second day. The first subject was the Palæolithic age of Brittany, introduced by M. Sageret, of Carnac, who was followed by MM. de Mortillet, Rutot, and Baudouin, who showed why beds of this epoch are rare: the Neolithic period has attracted more attention in Brittany (Mortillet); Brittany is only the central area of Quaternary Brittany, which was united to the British Isles until the Magdalenian period (Rutot), and to a southwestern continent which survives in Belle-Ile, Quiberon, Houat, &c. (Baudouin). Some stones of this period were exhibited by M. Landren, of St. Nazaire, under the name of eoliths; the Rennes flints of M. Pavot were not regarded as of prehistoric character. Dordogne, the scene of the last congress, next claimed the attention of the meeting. M. l'Abbé Chastaing offered some remarks on the hammers for use with bones discovered in the cave of Le Moustier, and M. de Ricard directed attention to the new Magdalenian station of Rocheyral, Drôme Valley. Finally, M. de Mortillet brought into prominence the Placard cave (Charente), and the various industries there practised; in this connection there arose a discussion on the preSolutrian age of M. l'Abbé Breuil, for which M. Rutot and M. l'Abbé Chastaing took up the cudgels.

M. Rutot spoke on the question of the Micoque beds, on the Vézère, after dealing with the Strépyien of France. He showed that the Chelles-Moustérien of Micoque was in reality Strépyien, and that this stage fell between the Chelléen and the Mesvinien, and not between the Chelléen and the Moustérien. M. Feuvrier (of Dôle) directed attention to a Magdalenian cave in the Jura, and M. J. Dharvent exhibited a sculptured flint of the Moustérien age.

were

On Wednesday evening Neolithic problems approached; among the papers were those of Dr. Martin, on the false tumulus of La Motte Beudron (Deux-Sèvres); M. Goby, on the tumuli of the districts of St. Vallier de Thiay, St. Cézaire, and Grasse (Alpes Maritimes); and M. Roerich, of St. Petersburg, on sculptured Neolithic flints. M. Rutot then turned to the Flénusien, or lower Neolithic, in France, and showed that traces could be found from one end of France to the other. Dr. Montelius then gave a summary exposition of the Stockholm collections from the Robenhausen and other periods.

On the morning of Thursday the pottery of the dolmens came up for discussion; M. Fourdrignier, of Paris, showed that the study of finger-prints might be of value, but it was pointed out that the information could throw little light on questions of race. Other papers were those of M. Goby, on the dolmen pottery of the Grasse district, and the micaceous pottery of Camp du Bois-du-Rouret (Alpes Maritimes).

After a remarkable paper by Dr. Stjerna on the Scandinavian origin of the Burgundians came papers on Megalithic monuments, among them those of Dr. Jousset, on the Carnacean age of Perche; Dr. Coutil, on Megalithic monuments in Normandy; M. José Fortès, on Megalithic sculptures in Portugal; M. Tavarès de Proença, on the classification of Portuguese dolmens; M. Coutil, on his exploration and restoration of the tumulus of Fontenay-leMarmion (Calvados) in 1904 and 1906. Important communications were read by Dr. Waldemar Schmidt, on Megalithic monuments in Denmark; by Dr. Montelius, on the same in Sweden; by Dr. Baudouin, on five years' excavations and restorations of the megaliths of Vendée. A popular evening lecture on the dolmens of Brittany, illustrated by lantern-slides, had already been given in the theatre on the previous evening.

On Thursday evening the subiect of prehistoric gold in Brittany and Vendée was treated by Count Costa de Beauregard and Dr. Baudouin, and much was said on the significance of menhirs and of the alignments. For M. de Paniagua they are evidence of a phallic cult, for M. Rutot they are sign-posts, for M. Montelius and for Dr. Baudouin tombstones, and the last view finds support in the results of the excavations of Dr. Baudouin

and M. Hue. The views on the alignments were varied; they were ex-votos, and they were connected with the Trojan war; but the majority hesitated to express an opinion. M. le Rouzic, Dr. Baudouin and others, subject to more extensive researches in Brittany and elsewhere, were disposed to connect them with a solar cult. Among other papers, Dr. Atgier discussed the Megalithic enclosures, and M. de Clérambant galgals, or cairns, in Indre-et-Loire.

M. de Villemereuil proposed a motion on the State protection of megaliths. Speaking generally, it may be said that both the discussions and the numerous papers were of much interest, and the meetings were attended by more than a hundred members.

The following three days were taken up with excellently organised excursions; weather, vehicles, meals, and speeches, all were of the best, and more than a hundred took part in each excursion. The first day was consecrated to the Gulf of Morbihan, and among the objects visited were the cromlechs of Kergonan, the tumulus of Gavr'inis, and the magnificent dolmens of Locmariaquer, including the largest known menhir. On the second day visits were paid to the little-known alignments of St. Pierre, in Quiberon, and of Erdeven, and to the dolmens of Roch-enAud, Crocuno, Rondossec, &c.

The third day was reserved for Carnac and its marvellous alignments Menec, Kermario, and Kerlescant.

Worthy of special mention were the visits to the tumulus of Moustoir-Carnac, and to the Miln Museum, where the secretary of the congress paid a well-deserved tribute to the brilliant efforts of the regretted founder and his enthusiastic and devoted pupil, M. le Rouzic. Finally, a visit was rendered to the splendid tumulus of St. MichelCarnac, so well cared for by M. d'Ault du Mesnil, president of the Megalithic Monuments Commission, who himself acted as guide.

In the course of the three days numerous speeches were made by foreign members, who were roused to enthusiasm alike by the monuments and by the organisation of the gathering. Mention must be made of the utterances of M. Rutot, on the Gulf of Morbihan; of Dr. Baudouin, on submerged megaliths in Brittany and Vendée, and on the technique of restorations; and of the erudition of M. .de Mortillet, as well as of the demonstrations of MM. d'Ault du Mesnil and le Rouzic; the latter also spoke in the Miln Museum on the alignments of Carnac, and on his researches on the spot.

As the scene of the next congress in 1907 Abbeville was suggested by more than one speaker. Before the congress separated, the healths of M. de Mortillet, Dr. Baudouin, and M. Giraux were proposed in eulogistic terms. As M. Rutot said, a society that has been able to accomplish so much in its infancy will do much more in its maturer years, and this was equally the opinion of the foreign savants who attended the meeting.

A NEW SPECIMEN OF THE OKAPI.

a letter from the Congo Free State, published in the IN Times of September 26, Major P. H. G. Powell-Cotton states that he has succeeded in obtaining the skeleton and skin of a fine male okapi. This animal was killed at Makala, in the Ituri forest, by the native hunter Agukki, who shot the two specimens taken to Europe by Dr. David. After careful inquiry, Major Powell-Cotton is unable to satisfy himself that any European has hitherto killed an okapi. A Swiss official named Jeannet, in the employ of the Congo Government, was, however, in 1905 shown one of these animals by a native as it stood in thick covert, where it was shot by the latter. This the writer believes to be the first living okapi (or "kangi,' as it is called by the Makala natives) seen by a European. According to information furnished by the Mambutti (pigmies), the okapi is generally a solitary animal, the two members of a pair invariably feeding apart, although, together with their single calf, they may frequent the same section of the forest. The calf, which is born in May, is left hidden in covert by the female, who returns to it at intervals for feeding purposes. Hearing and smell are very acute in the okapi, so that the sound of an axe or the faintest scent of man drives it from its feeding grounds

into the depths of the forest. Even when feeding it is restless, and it seldom reposes long in the same lair. In the Ituri forest these animals avoid swampy ground, and always drink from clear running streams. During rain they seek shelter in the densest thickets or even under an abandoned roof, and it is at such times that they are most usually seen by the natives.

In the Ituri forest the okapi does not eat the giant leaves of Sarcophrynium arnoldianum, which Мајот Powell-Cotton believes to be the plant alluded to by Captain Boyd-Alexander in his account of the animal in the Welle district. Specimens of four different kinds ut leaves which form the food of the Ituri forest okapi are being brought home for identification.

UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE.

THE honorary degree of LL.D. has been conferred upon Sir Thomas Barlow and Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., by Harvard University.

Ar a Convocation of the University of Durham, held on September 29, the honorary degree of D.Sc. was conferred upon Sir William White, K.C.B., and Prof. Lebour.

PROF. WIEN, who occupies the chair of physics at Wurzburg, informs us that he has declined the invitation to succeed the late Prof. Drude as professor of physics in the University of Berlin, because the Prussian Government is unable to undertake the erection of a modern physical laboratory there.

PROF. E. A. MINCHIN, F.R.S., the recently appointed professor of protozoology in the University of London, will deliver his inaugural lecture on The Scope and Problems of Protozoology On November 15. The University library, in which is included the Goldsmiths' Company library of economic literature, will be opened by the Chancellor on the afternoon of Friday, October 26.

THE new calendar of University College, London, contains an interesting outline of the history of the college by Dr. G. Carey Foster, F.R.S. The contribution deals with the growth and development of the University t London as a teaching university, and the part played by University College in that development. Particulars arr given of the post-graduate courses offered this session in all faculties, and of the original work produced in the college during last session. The number of research and post-graduate students last year was 134, as against 110 in the previous session.

THE first volume of the report for 1904 of the Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Education has at last been issued. A gratifying feature noted in the reports of the agricultural and mechanical colleges is the largely increased aid granted them by the several States and Territories. This aid amounted for the year to about 1,131,000l., an increase of more than 200,000l. over the amount for the preceding year. A chapter of more than a hundred pages is devoted to the regulations relating to pensions and insurance in all German universities. The data were collected by Prof. Julius Hatscheck, of Heideberg, for Dr. Theodore Marburg, trustee of Johns Hopkins University, and by the latter presented to the U.S. Commissioner of Education. It appears that in Germane membership in any teaching body means, nolens volens, the payment of regular contributions to the pension fund of that body, except in elementary schools, where the State assumes the entire burden of pension payment. Dr. John W. Hoyt contributes a detailed account of the University of Paris during the Middle Ages. Among other chapters of interest in the report, which runs to 1176 pages, may be mentioned two on education at the St. Louis Exposition and one on higher education in England as affected by the Act of 1902, in which prominence is given to Prof. Sadler's reports to various county councils.

AT the University of Leeds on Monday, the inaugural address of the new session was delivered by Sir James Crichton-Browne upon the subject of "Universities and Medical Education." In the course of his remarks, he

said that centuries ago gifts were given for the promotion of objects equivalent to those which modern universities hold in view, which, considering the pecuniary resources of those who gave them, should put our most open-handed modern millionaires to shame. England has been remiss of late in perceiving and promoting those interests that hinge on scientific and medical research. In this direction Germany has stolen a march upon us, for the various Governments in that Empire have unstintedly provided their universities with fully-equipped research laboratories, organised and conducted by professorial directors. A university is something more than a medical school, a workshop of research, or a home of science. It must have loftier aims than material advancement or commercial prosperity. It must provide for culture in its widest sense, afford intellectual guidance, encourage individuality, take cognisance of the theoretical problems that arise in the progress of civilisation, be a storehouse of knowledge, and a gymnasium for the exercise of all the powers of the mind; and to be truly a university it must be an organism, and not a mere conglomeration of parts. The one great objection to the multiplication of universities is that they may tend to become local seminaries, somewhat parochial in spirit, and fed exclusively from one district, for it would be a misfortune to a boy to pass from a secondary school to a university in the next street, where he would meet as his fellow-students only his old schoolfellows, and where, however amply fed with knowledge, he would still be surrounded by the same traditions and associations and shop amongst which he had been brought up. A provincial university is a contradiction in terms. What is wanted is a group of territorial universities, each with distinctive features of its own, specially adapting it to its environment, but all affording the most liberal instruction, the finest culture, the best intellectual discipline of the day, and collectively meeting the higher educational needs of the whole country.

SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES.

LONDON.

Royal Society, June 28.-" Regeneration of Nerves." By Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S., Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S., and Arthur Edmunds.

Five sets of experiments are recorded as a contribution to the discussion as to whether the regeneration of nervefibres is autogenetic or not. The experimental methods approach the subject in different ways, and in no case was any evidence forthcoming of auto-regeneration.

The facts recorded, taken in conjunction with those published by such observers as Cajal and Langley and Anderson, form, on the other hand, strong pieces of evidence in favour of the Wallerian doctrine that new nerve-fibres are growths from the central ends of divided nerve trunks. The experimental facts recorded by those who, like Bethe and Kennedy, hold the opposite view, are susceptible of easy explanation, mainly on the lines emphasised by Langley and Anderson, of accidental and unnoticed connection of the peripheral segments with the central nervous system by means of other nerves cut through in the operation. If such connection is effectually prevented, real regeneration of structure and restoration of function never

occur.

Moreover, the regenerated fibres always degenerate in a peripheral direction, and in a peripheral direction only, when the link that binds them to the central nervous system is again severed. Perhaps the most striking of the facts brought out in the present paper is in reference to the development of the medullary sheath; this appendage of the axis cylinder appears earliest at situations near the point where the ends of a nerve have been joined together, and reaches the distal portions later.

What takes place in the peripheral segment of a divided nerve is a multiplication, elongation, and union into long chains of the neurilemmal cells. The same change is even more vigorous at the central termination of the cut nerve; and the view of the phagocytic and nutritive function attributed to this sheath has been supported independently by some striking observations of Graham Kerr which are referred to. At the central end this nutritive function is

effective, and provides for the nourishment of the actively lengthening axis cylinders. At the peripheral end, unless the axons reach it, it is ineffective in so far as any real new formation of nerve-fibres is concerned. If, however, the axons reach the peripheral segment, the work of the neurilemmal cells has not been useless, for they provide the supporting and nutritive elements necessary for their continued and successful growth. The neurilemmal activity appears to be essential, for without it, as in the central nervous system, regeneration does not take place.

According to Graham Kerr, the formation of neurofibrillæ may possibly take place in the protoplasmic residue of the degenerated axis cylinder; according to Marinesco, this property is assigned to the neurilemmal elements themselves, a proposition which is extremely improbable, seeing that these elements are mesoblastic. In either case these two observers consider that the neuro-fibrillæ, however formed, are ineffective until they are activated by union with those of the central axons. The present observations do not entirely exclude this view, but, on the other hand, they lend it no support. The facts are readily explicable, however, on the theory that the nerve-fibres are growths from the central ends of divided nerves.

"The Ionisation produced by Hot Platinum in Different Gases." By Prof. O. W. Richardson. Communicated by Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S.

The present paper forms an account of an experimental investigation of the steady positive ionisation produced by hot bodies, platinum being assumed to be typical. The following are the chief results:

The positive ionisation, i.e. the number of positive ions produced by 1 sq. cm. of platinum surface per second, possesses a minimum value, which depends on temperature and pressure, in most gases. The positive ionisation in oxygen at a low pressure (less than 1 mm.) is much greater than in the other gases tried. In oxygen at low pressures, and temperatures below 1000° C., the ionisation varies as the square root of the pressure; at higher temperatures and low pressures it varies nearly directly as the pressure; whilst at higher pressures at all temperatures the variation with pressure is slower, so that at pressures approaching atmospheric the ionisation becomes practically independent of the pressure.

The variation with pressure in air is similar to that in oxygen. In nitrogen and hydrogen the ionisation appeared to increase more rapidly with the pressure at high pressures than in oxygen. In very pure helium at low pressures there was a positive ionisation which was a function of the pressure.

The experiments on ionisation by collisions indicate that the positive ions liberated by hot platinum in oxygen are of the same order of magnitude as those set free by the

collisions.

The positive leak in oxygen always oscillated around a certain value under specified conditions. It was, therefore, never steady, so the minimum values were taken. This variability was much less marked in the other gases.

The minimum value of the positive ionisation was found to remain practically constant with a wire heated during three months at various times (for 150 hours altogether) in oxygen at 900°-1000° C. Moreover, four different wires of different dimensions after continued heating in oxygen gave nearly the same value for the ionisation at the same temperatures and pressures.

The positive ionisation in air at constant temperature is smaller than that which would be obtained if the nitrogen were withdrawn, so as to leave only oxygen at a low pressure. The nitrogen, therefore, exerts an inhibiting effect on the oxygen.

The minimum value of the positive ionisation at a definite pressure in all gases appears to be connected with the temperature by the relation first deduced by the author for the negative ionisation. This relation may be written i= Aole-9/20, where i is the ionisation, is the absolute temperature, and A and Q are constants. The value of the constant Q, which is a measure of the energy associated with the liberation of an ion, is in most cases smaller for the positive than for the negative ionisation.

These results refer to wires which have been heated in

a vacuum, and subsequently in the gas considered, for a long time. New wires exhibit peculiar properties, especially in regard to their behaviour under different electromotive forces. Old wires also exhibit hysteretic effects with change of pressure.

In

The view is developed that the positive ionisation is caused by the gas adsorbed by the metal and the consequence examined of supposing the ionisation to be proportional to the amount of the adsorbed gas present. the case of oxygen, by making the assumption that the rate of increase of the amount of the adsorbed gas is proportional jointly to the concentration of the external dissociated oxygen and to the area of "unoccupied " platinum surface, whilst the rate of breaking up is proportional to the amount present, a formula is obtained which agrees with the experimental results. This formula is that the ionisation i=Ap/(B+p), where p (kP+}k2)1−}k, being the external pressure and k the dissociation constant of oxygen; A, B, and k are constants depending on the temperature, and are of the general form a1e-b0. Thus this view accounts for both the temperature and pressure variation.

Р

The positive ionisation from the outer surface of a hot platinum tube in air is increased when hydrogen is allowed to diffuse through from inside the apparatus. The increase in the ionisation is proportional at constant temperature to the quantity of hydrogen escaping from the surface in unit time.

The negative ionisation from hot platinum in air is unaltered when hydrogen is allowed to diffuse out through the platinum.

These results show that neither the negative nor the positive ionisations usually observed with hot platinum heated in air or oxygen are due to residual traces of absorbed hydrogen.

If

A wire which has been heated in hydrogen furnishes a negative ionisation which is very big compared with that from a wire heated in oxygen at the same temperature. the hydrogen is at a pressure of the order of 1 mm. the negative ionisation can be rapidly reduced to a much smaller value by applying a high negative potential to the wire. The wire subsequently recovers its ionising power if the potential is reduced again. Under these conditions the ionisation varies in an interesting way with the time. The reduction in the ionising power of the wire appears to be caused by the bombardment of the surface by positive ions produced by collisions.

When a platinum wire, which has previously been allowed to absorb hydrogen, is heated for a long time in a good vacuum so as to expel the gas, its ionising power does not appear to be reduced. The ionisation apparently is not a definite function of the quantity of gas absorbed by the wire.

PARIS.

Academy of Sciences, September 24.-M. A. Chauveau in the chair.-The colour and spectra of solar prominences M. Ricco. Direct observation of the eastern group of protuberances during the total eclipse of 1905 showed that the colour was different in different parts, and especially at the edges, the latter showing a play of colours. The body of the protuberance was purple-red, the outside was violet-blue, the summit was pure violet, nearly white, and exceedingly brilliant. Two photographs of the spectrum were taken, enlarged reproductions of which are given. The application of M. E. Borel's method of summation to generalised trigonometrical series: A. Buhl.— The amplification of sounds: M. Dussaud. The vibrations from any source of sound are received on a membrane, and this, either directly, or through a solid, acts on a jet of compressed air. The sound is in this way faithfully reproduced by the jet of air, the amount of amplification depending only on the power of the motor used in the compression.-The recent scientific cruise of the Otaria Teisserenc de Bort.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

Linnean Society, August 1.-Prof. T. P. Anderson Stuart, president, in the chair.-The Australian Melaleucas and their essential oils, part i. R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith. In this series of papers on the Melaleucas and their essential oils, of which this is the first, it is the

authors' intention to follow out this research on the same lines as those adopted in the work on Eucalypts and their essential oils. Bulk material was employed in obtain. ing the results given in the paper. The Melaleucas are commonly known as "tea trees, and are distributed throughout the whole continent of Australia, and so are familiar plants in the bush. Two species form the subject of this paper, viz. M. thymifolia, Sm., and M. linarisfolia Sm.-Vitis opaca, F.v.M., and its enlarged rootstock R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith. The occurrence of these enlarged rootstocks, weighing from 20 lb. to 25 lb., in the Australian species of Vitis, has been recorded by Baron Mueller, Thozet, Roth, and others, but no chemical investigation of their composition appears to have been made, Such an investigation forms the basis of this paper. From the results a close affinity between the carbohydrates of this "tuber" and those belonging to the true gums is shown, and the alteration products are more in the direction of the sugars than the starches.-Investigation of the disease in cattle known as "rickets," or "wobbles," and examination of the poisonous principle of the Zamia palm (Macrozamia Fraseri): E. A. Mann and T. L. Wallas The authors for some time have been carrying on invest gations on the above subject, as the result of which they have come to the conclusion that the effects upon cattle induced by eating the Macrozamia Fraseri are caused by the presence in the plant of acid potassium oxalate (salts of sorrel). This is a confirmation of the results of an analysis made by a Mr. Norrie prior to 1876, and reported to the Royal Society of New South Wales by Dr. F. Milford (Journal of the Society, vol. x., p. 295).